We found the cheapest fares to Honolulu from Denver ($342), San Francisco ($342), Seattle ($352), and Portland ($362), and Scott's Cheap Flights even found fares as low as $327 on some routes.

Flights are also cheap to Maui from San Francisco ($342), San Diego ($342), San Jose ($377), and Portland ($366). And San Diego to Kauai is starting at $342.

Not on the West Coast? Not a problem. Flights are in the $400s and $500s from cities including Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit, Houston, New York City, and D.C. The cheapest flights from the East Coast involve a stop or two, but you can get nonstop for relatively cheap, too — nonstop on Hawaiian from New York City to Honolulu starts at $637.

Increased competition gets credit for all these cheap fares: United and hawaiian have both increased service. The cheap fares are on several airlines, including Alaska/Virgin America, United, Delta, and Hawaiian.

While Christmas and New Year's, which are very popular for Hawaiian vacations, are not that low, there are tons of cheap dates during those cold winter months when the beach in Kauai sounds way better than the couch at home.

The cheapest times to travel are typically after Thanksgiving until the middle of the second week of December, as well as post-New Year's in January and February.

If Hawaii looks tempting but you're not ready to buy, set an alert on Hopper or Google Flights (or your airfare search engine of choice). You'll be glad you did after that first snow turns to dirty mush.